The Dog Days
by trolllia
Summary: Your name is Karkat Vantas, you are sixteen years old, and bad luck seems to follow you no matter what town you move to. Humanstuck, sort of a highschool AU but it takes place during summer vacation.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**I feel weirdly obligated to explain some things before you dive into the story, even though I probably don't need to, haha! Sorry if this is horrible, it's my first published Homestuck fanfiction and the first chapter's a little short. I should probably mention that the two main pairings are PBJ and Solkat, though side pairings include Dave/Terezi, DirkJake and Rosemary, and perhaps some more that I haven't decided if I should include yet!**

**Warnings: Some violence, language, and adult themes, though nothing too bad because I tend to be kind of a wimp when it comes to writing that kind of thing xP**

**Disclaimer: Homestuck does not belong to me. I'm sure this was obvious from the start but I feel obligated to put it here anyway.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Your name is Karkat Vantas, you are sixteen years old, and you previously thought that moving to this stupid town would grant you a fresh start, but the bad luck from your hometown seems to have followed you.

According to your dad, crime in this town was low. Perhaps lower than it should be. But that didn't stop it from looking like it was fucking _shady as hell_. "Go outside" he said. "Make some friends" he said. "It'll be good for you" he said. Well it didn't feel very good for you at all; it was giving you anxiety and you wanted to go home.

There was a nice, family-friendly park about a block away from your new apartment building. It was pretty small, resided next to some railroad tracks, and tended to be taken over by crazy-looking teenagers. Your dad had suggested befriending some of these teenagers, getting to know them before summer vacation ended so you wouldn't be stuck with no friends at school again. But there was no way in hell you'd be able to just go up and introduce yourself to the weirdos sitting on the monkey-bars. So, in the light and the heat of the late-June sunlight, you rush over to the one open swing and just sort of sit there. The other one's occupied by a five-year-old in a _Cars 2 _shirt and you do your best not to make eye contact.

The kid has to leave, and to your utter horror, one of the teenagers shouts at the top of his lungs "THERE'S A SWING OPEN" and soon they're all racing for it. You'd leave, but now you feel trapped, with one of them on the swing and the rest sitting on the ground around it. The one on the swing had dark hair and tan skin, with a baggy tee-shirt and glasses with one red lens and one blue lens.

"Hey, I've seen you around before," one of the teens sitting on the ground points out. He has hair so blonde it looks white and sunglasses so dark you can't see his eyes. "You normally avoid us. I don't blame you. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"My dad thought it'd be a fucking _great _idea for me to make some friends," you mumble.

"Actually, it probably wath a good idea," the one on the swing next to you speaks, digging his heels in the ground and stopping his movement. He's got a lisp and it's a little annoying to you. "You gotta have friendth out here if you wanna thtay out of trouble."

"I thought this town had a low crime rate," you say again, slightly louder and less garbled but not by much. The blonde kid laughs.

"Where'd you here that?" He says. "This town is the exact _opposite _of 'low crime'."

"What the _fuck_?" You exclaim. "Thanks, dad, for giving me a false sense of safety."

"If he thinkth thith place ith safe you might wanna inform him otherwith," the one on the swing comments. "Thith place ith actually dangerouth ath fuck."

"If it's anything like my old town I'm sure I'll know how to handle myself," you grumble.

"We never got your name," a black-haired kid with square glasses changes the subject. "I'm John. That's Dave, Sollux, and Terezi."

Terezi, the only female of the group, grins widely and waves. She's got red sunglasses and choppy brown hair, her nose dusted with freckles. You think she's pretty cute, but she seems to be clinging to Dave and vice-versa and Dave doesn't look like someone who wants to be messed with, so you don't stare at her for too long.

"I'm Karkat," you say. These guys are actually quite a bit friendlier than you anticipated.

"Well, KK," Sollux says, putting a hand on your shoulder. "Lookth like you'll be thafe in thith town. For now." He laughs and you scowl. This isn't very funny to you.

"Don't call me KK," you state, jumping off the swing. "I think I'm gonna go home if you guys don't mind." Sollux grabs your wrist and you make a weird growling noise at him, turning your head so you can see his face.

"Not by yourthelf you're not," he says. "We have a thort of rule. No one goeth home alone, no one geth thtabbed by themthelveth in an alley thomewhere."

Your eyes widen visibly at the mention of getting stabbed in an alley with no one there to help you. Sollux notices.

"Relax, you're not gonna get thtabbed," Sollux laughs. "It wath an exaggeration. Can't you take a joke?"

"No, I am a heartless being devoid of the capability to sense when someone's being humorous," you spit. He laughs again.

"Whatever," he says. "I'm walking you home weather you like it or not. I don't know where you live, though, tho you're gonna have to lead the way."

"Fine," you mutter, shaking your wrist out of his grasp.

You have a feeling you're really gonna hate this town.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**Karkat wearing crocs is my aesthetic.**

**This chapter is also quite a bit longer than the last one! Hopefully they'll be this long from now on.**

**Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Homestuck or any of these characters. If I did none of them would be dead. Actually nevermind they probably would.**

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><p><strong>Chapter <strong>**2**

Your name is Karkat Vantas and this guy you met fifteen minutes ago is standing outside your apartment building and handing you his phone.

"Could I get your number?" He asks, and though his voice is annoying and so are his glasses, you snatch the Android from his hand and in turn give him your iPhone 4 with its cracked screen.

You type in your number and your name, nothing more, and are ready to hand it back, but he's too busy taking a selfie with duck-lips to use as his contact picture. You frown and wait for him to finish.

"If you ever wanna hang out again," he begins, "we normally hang out at either the park or one of our houthes. Jutht give me a ring and I'll tell you where we're meeting."

"Sure," you grumble. You seem to be doing that a lot today. "Will you...uh...be alright getting back?"

"It'th not ath far ath I thought," he says, stuffing his phone in his sweatpants pocket and turning to go back already. "I'm thure I'll be fine, don't worry about it."

"If you're sure," you say, turning to enter the shabby complex behind you.

You enter your third-floor apartment and instantly turn down the hallway to your room. Your dad isn't home; won't be for at least three or four hours. And now you're home alone because you're an antisocial idiot who freaks out over small things like mentions of high-crime rates in the town you moved to so you could literally escape high-crime rates.

You flop down on your bed, checking the time on your phone for no reason. You're not hungry, you're not tired, you don't wanna hang out with your new friends or even your nearly nonexistent old ones. You don't wanna do much of anything but yell at your idiotic father for either using horribly inaccurate websites to read up on this town or just flat-out lying to you. And worst of all, you're betting the latter situation is the truer one.

Eventually you just think "fuck it" and call your dad.

Your dad isn't exactly good with people, or with any living creature ever. Despite his intentness at finding a town with little crime he would probably be voted most likely to stab someone thirty-seven times if anyone ever had vote for something like that. He tries his best with you, he really does, you think/hope. Come to think of it, you're not really sure what his job is or how hr managed to get one so quickly after arriving here.

"Karkat what the fu..." Your dad answers. You of course cut him off before he has the chance to finish his vulgarity.

"You either lied to me or have really shitty internet skills," you nearly catch yourself yelling.

"Wha..."

"Don't play dumb you said this town had low crime rates and I fucking believed you! Well guess what this place _doesn't have_?"

"Listen I can explai..."

"Nope, there's nothing you can say that'll justify this. I thought we moved here so I could escape what happened in January but I guess I'm in just as much danger as before."

"Kid, would you just stop for a second? I've gotta go or my boss is gonna literally kill me, so hang on for a few hours, alright? I'll explain everything later."

You open your mouth to say something else but he's already ended the call.

* * *

><p>Your name is Karkat Vantas and you've just woken up way too quickly to have been having a good dream. Which you weren't.<p>

In a hazy, tired state, you grab your phone and call a number you haven't had a chance or a reason to call yet. It rings for just a bit too long before he picks up.

"You do realith that it'th thix in the morning on a thummer day, right?"

Oh thank god.

"Yeah, sorry," you begin. "I just realized I never heard back from you yesterday and my paranoid ass immediately jumped to the conclusion that you'd been fucking kidnapped or something."

"Well I'm fine, no worrieth," he says, and you can almost hear his smirk. "Call me at a dethent hour, okay? And by dethent I mean like noon."

He hangs up, and the scenes from the nightmare you just woke up from replay in your head, becoming more surreal with each passing second. You realize how stupid of you it was to freak out. Sollux doesn't seem like the kind of person to get kidnapped without putting up a fight.

Actually, he kind of seems more like the type of person who would purposefully get into late-night fights with his next-door neighbors simply because their tree was scratching his window again.

You push the thought from your mind and put a shirt on before lazily walking to the kitchen and getting some breakfast.

The rest of the morning moves at an agonizingly slow pace, so you're really glad when it finally reaches eleven-thirty and you decide it's a good time to contact Sollux. You text him this time.

**HEY LISP BREATH YOU AWAKE YET?**

It takes him a few (ten) minutes, but he texts back.

**hey kk ii wa2 actually ju2t about two call you**

What the fuck kind of shitty typing quirk is that? You decide to be nice and not make fun of him for it.

**REALLY?**

**yeah we're playiing viideo game2 at dave'2 place wanna joiin iin?**

**SURE, WHERE DOES HE LIVE?**

**hold on, ii'm 2endiing two ****of my friiend2**** t****w****o piick you up cuz they have a car and were headiing your way anyway.**

**text me when 2omeone park2 iin front of your buiildiing and ii'll confiirm wiith them ju2t two be 2afe.**

**OK.**

You shove your phone in the pocket of your dark jeans and slip on a pair of dirty crocs before heading downstairs. There's thankfully no one in the lobby, so your constant glances out the glass doors (one of which is cracked) won't make you look weird or paranoid. However, your phone is too outdated to have any good apps and you're really bored at this point.

**ii ju2t got a text they're at your buiildiing now**

**al2o ii 2hould probably tell you: 1) no they are not datiing 2) ye2 they liike each other 3) no you 2houldn't mentiion iit**

If you're going to have to deal with some chick and some dude swooning over each other the entire car ride there, you're going to puke.

To your utter surprise, it's actually two dudes in a shiny pickup truck.

You climb in the back, which is rather cramped because it's filled with horns. Not the musical kind or the animal kind, the really annoying noisy kind. You try not to move, because if you do it will start a chain reaction of honks and you really don't want that.

"You must be, uh, Karkat, right?" The teen in the passenger seat says. He looks Mexican and is sporting a Mohawk and orange-brown eyes. "I'm Tavros, and that's Gamzee."

Gamzee, who's face is painted like a clown and hair is styled like a tumbleweed that just got off a roller-coaster, waves at you with one hand. He looks kind of like he's been smoking something but he drives well enough so you aren't that concerned.

It's really easy to tell that they like each other and really hard to convince yourself that they aren't together. But they're actually really decent people to be around and you're starting to have second thoughts; maybe this town won't be so bad, after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

**Hi guys! I can successfully say that now because I have gained more than two followers! Yep. My story has followers. I'm cool like that.**

**Just kidding, I am literally the opposite of cool.**

**Anyway, I'm really sorry about this chapter. It sucks. I'm posting it anyway because...Mario Kart. Again, I apologize for the suckiness.**

**Disclaimer: Homestuck and its characters do not belong to me. Neither does Mario Kart. Do I really have to say this? Probably not but I'm going to anyway.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Your name is Karkat Vantas, and if you had known your friends were playing Mario Kartof all things you probably would have stayed home.

You've only played this god-forsaken game one other time, at your cousin's friend's girlfriend's house. And it wasn't pleasant, as your cousin's friend basically ragequits every game he ever plays beyond two levels and starts yelling at everyone. Thankfully none of your friends here are nearly as loud as that guy.

Dave has developed a "winner picks the track" rule and you find that either him, Sollux, or Gamzee is always picking the track. You haven't gotten one chance to and neither has Tavros, but neither of you seem to mind that much because the three frequent winners seem to have each course memorized. You also have to constantly switch out controllers with either Tavros or Gamzee, as Sollux and Dave refuse to give up theirs and there are only four.

Of course, whenever Sollux wins he picks Rainbow Road. Your record for falling off the least times is lingering somewhere around ten.

Finally, Tavros somehow manages to place himself in first on Maple Treeway (you kept running into the giant fucking yellow caterpillars) and picks a much easier track, Luigi Circuit.

"Aww, c'mon," Dave begins, "that's the easiest damn track in the whole game."

"Some of us aren't fucking Mario Kart fanatics!" You exclaim. Gamzee is now the one sitting out, and he's got his arm stretched across the back of the couch, and by extent, Tavros. Though everyone pretends not to notice.

"Exactly," Tavros agrees. Dave sighs.

"Fine," he says. "But after this, I'm having a fucking showdown with Sollux."

"What about me, bro?" Gamzee sounds fake-hurt.

"You win every time you play," Sollux says. "That'th why we keep making you thit out, dumbathth."

Heh. The way he says "ass" is really funny and you're having a hard time not laughing at him.

Luigi Circuit is really easy and you actually make it into fourth place, with Tavros in second and Sollux in first. Dave, however, somehow managed sixth, and looks about ready to throw his controller across the room.

"It's because that track is too easy for me!" He defends. "Honestly I would have gotten first place if it wasn't for that _fucking blue shell_."

Everyone glares at Sollux, who is smiling mischievously. "It'th the curthe of Weegi dude."

"DON'T BRING MEMES INTO THIS!" Dave shouts. Everyone is laughing but him.

Eventually Sollux and Dave get their showdown. They play Rainbow Road, of course. Gamzee somehow managed to find a bag of popcorn in Dave's enigma of a kitchen (the fridge was filled with swords. _SWORDS_. What the fuck?) and now you, Tavros, and Gamzee are crowded on the couch while the remaining two are sitting on the floor as they play.

"Dave, you'd better watch out!" You laugh. "Sollux has a blue shell."

"What? Hell ho," Dave says, picking up an item box and gaining a green shell. With incredibly accurate aim he knocks Sollux off the track.

"Fuck you," Sollux says.

In the end, a CPU wins and neither of them are very happy about it. Dave puts the game away and throws his controller at Sollux, who expertly catches it.

"I should probably head home," Tavros says, noticing the time. You check your phone; it's three-twenty. You should probably head home as well, but you don't feel like facing your dad, who is surely home by now.

"Need a ride?" Gamzee asks, and Tavros nods. "That's motherfuckin' great because I was about to head home too."

They leave, and you're left in the room with Dave and Sollux. Sollux slides on the couch next to you where as Dave seems to prefer the floor.

"What's the deal with them, anyway?" You ask. "They're basically a couple minus the kissing. Are they really _that _blind?"

"Yeth," Sollux begins. "That, and Tavroth hath a girlfriend."

"Oh," you say. "So he's just not into guys or...?"

"No, he's gay as hell," Dave says. "He's just too much of a wimp to break it off with her and she's a manipulative bitch."

"Vrithka'th not _that _bad," Sollux says. "Thee jutht apparently can't tell that thee hath thomehow ended up with a gay boyfriend."

"I feel kinda bad for her," you say.

"You wouldn't if you met her," Dave smirks. "Anyway guys, get out of my apartment. My bro's gonna be home soon."

You both leave without questions, though you are left wondering about Dave's bro. You decide not to ask because it's bound to be met with a weird story as an answer.

"Tho, what d'ya wanna do now?" Sollux asks you. You both are now walking aimlessly around the neighborhood and you are just now noticing how fucking tall he is. "I mean, we don't have to do anything if you don't want. I could jutht bring you home."

"Nah, I don't wanna go home yet," you say. Your response is met with an uncomfortable mass of silence as you both continue walking, looping around and coming in sight of the park, though it's still two blocks away. You're surprised; you've known half of these guys for a day, and the other half for less, and yet they've been treating you as though you've known them your whole life. It's...nice.

"Hey," he stops for a second, in front of a fairly small house with an old, rusty van parked in the driveway. "Thith ith my houth, we could hang out here if you want."

"Why the fuck not?" You shrug.

"It'th a little thmall," he says, waking up the sidewalk to the door. "That'th why we don't normally meet here. But I think there'll be enough room for two, ath long ath my brother doethn't have hith friendth over."

You both walk into his house, and it's dark so he turns on a light. "MITUNA!" Sollux yells.

No response.

"I gueth he'th not home," Sollux continues. "Either that or he'th theelping. Either way, we're safe."

Mituna...you know that name. He's that guy that's friends with your cousin.

"Hey, does one of your brother's friends happen to be Kankri Vantas?" You ask, though you already know the answer. You're walking up the stairs with him, presumably to his room.

"Yeah," Sollux says, as you both walk into his room. You try not to step on any of the various computer cords littering the room. "How'd you know?"

"Kankri's my annoying cousin," you say, sort of awkwardly standing around. "I met your brother and his girlfriend once. We were, oddly enough, playing Mario Kart."

"Heh, thmall world," Sollux laughs. "I bet Latula won every game."

"She fucking did," you say. "I could've sworn she hacked the game or some shit."

He smiles and you smile back.

Despite the danger of it all, this town is really beginning to grow on you.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

**This is my favorite chapter I have written, I hope I portrayed Vriska alright. This is the foggy train chapter. That's all you need to know.**

**Dis****cl****aimer: I, once again, am still not Andrew Hussie, nor have I magically gained the rights to Homestuck.**** Also I don't own Nancy Drew which is a thing I mentioned in this chapter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Your name is Karkat Vantas, you've just woken up, it's gloomy as fuck outside and a number you've never seen in your life keeps texting you.

**hEY, THIS IS tAVROS, sOLLUX GAVE ME YOUR NUMBER,**

**aNYWAY, WE CAN HANG OUT, AT THE PARK TODAY, IF YOU DON'T MIND,**

**yOU'LL GET TO MEET MY GIRLFRIEND, vRISKA,**

**yOU DON'T HAVE TO COME, IF YOU DON'T WANT, IT WAS JUST A SUGGESTION,,,**

You slip on your crocs and a pair of sweatpants and head out without so much as eating breakfast or combing your hair (which is about as messy as Gamzee's at the moment). The air outside is a tolerable temperature and incredibly humid, as it's super foggy and super cloudy. It makes everything look a little mysterious and pretty beautiful, actually.

When you're finished walking the single block to the park, you find only Tavros and a girl that can't be anyone other than Vriska occupying both swings. Sollux, Gamzee, Dave, Terezi, and John are nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," you say, with a light wave, seating yourself on the ground. "Where's everyone else?"

"Let's seeeeeeee," Vriska says, drawing out the "ee" waaaaaaaay toooooooo loooooooong. "Sollux has a migraine, John is finally getting braces, Dave and Terezi are probably together, and I have absolutely no clue where Gamzee is. Anyway, you're Karkat, riiiiiiiight? Tavros was just telling me about you! Weren't you, Tavros?"

She nudges him with her elbow. "Uh, yes, I was indeed doing that," he replies.

"So you're new to this town, huh?" She begins. "And you haven't gotten stabbed yet? Nice."

You tense up visibly.

"Relax, it was a joke!" She laughs. Her laugh is sort of like a cackle and you don't like her already. "You're supposed to laugh."

Tavros giggles a bit, but you remain bitter. "I'm not so sure I appreciate all this joking about stabbing," you spit out the word like it's poisonous.

"Lighten uuuuuuuup, jeez!" Vriska says. This drawn-out word thing is getting a little annoying.

"Yeah, uh, Karkat," Tavros says. You're about to call him out for taking her side but she's his girlfriend and he's kinda supposed to do that. "It's just a joke."

"Moving on," Vriska says, taking a small and graceful leap off the swing. "What d'ya say we walk the railroad tracks? I've never had the chance to follow them too far and if my sources are right there's a river to the west."

"That sounds like a great, uh, idea!" Tavros says, and you notice he's saying "uh" quite a bit more than usual. Perhaps he does that when he's nervous, or something?

Vriska looks at you expectantly with cold cerulean eyes. "Sure, why not? Might be nice," you say. "Isn't it illegal or something though?"

"Teeeeeeeechnically, yes," Vriska says, walking towards the broken-down wire fence separating the park from the railroad. "But the police are too preoccupied with convenience-store robberies and fleeing drug dealers to care about three teens walking down to the river near some train tracks."

You're not so sure that's true; wouldn't it make more sense for police to just be roaming everywhere on high alert instead of having their forces centered all in a couple places where bigger things were happening? Either way you're still a bit hesitant as she jumps the fence, helps Tavros over, and looks at you, expecting you to climb over as well.

Skeptically, you place one foot in the wires and let out a light gasp as it gives more than you expect it to. Placing your hand firmly on the top, you hoist yourself over, and stumble when you hit the ground on the other side. Vriska gives you a little push on the shoulder to help steady yourself.

The tracks are surrounded by tall grass and plants and you really hope you don't get ticks. You realize that today was probably not the best day to wear crocs, but notice Tavros is wearing sandals and socks so you don't feel as stupid. You both sort of follow Vriska onto the train tracks, and she walks down the very center of them in a direction you're just going to assume is west.

Over the next half hour or so, you three continue walking, occasionally making conversation. During this time you learn that Sollux frequently gets migraines, Terezi is blind and by extend has a weird, rare form of synesthesia, and Dave's bro is completely obsessed and runs a businesses based off puppet porn. You kind of regret asking about that last thing.

"Hey, you hear that?" Vriska says suddenly, leaping off the tracks, grabbing both you and Tavros by your arms, and pulling you a safe distance away. "There's a train coming!"

"Whoa, really," Tavros says, trying to determine what direction it's coming from. You roll your eyes; you can't hear a train.

"Psyche!" Vriska exclaims, laughing and giving Tavros what is meant to be a playful punch on the shoulder but actually kinda looks like it hurt.

"That, uh, wasn't very funny," Tavros says, frowning. Vriska completely ignores him and continues walking.

During the next twenty minutes, you continue walking and talking. You find out that Vriska is absolutely infatuated with the number eight for whatever reason and Tavros wants a nose ring but is afraid to ask his weird uncle. You know, because his uncle is weird.

Eventually you all find a river, which is actually more of a stream. It's gotten noticeably more humid and frogs croak in the background, and what with all the fog and the clouds, it's looking like a scene straight out of a Nancy Drew book. The railroad crosses the river on a small bridge and you all walk out onto it despite how dangerous it could be if a train were to come.

"This is really beautiful," Tavros observes.

"Yeah, it is," Vriska says, suddenly grabbing a fistful of his shirt and forcefully kissing him. You stand there awkwardly.

"Sorry about, uh, that," Tavros says after she pulls away, looking a little flustered. You shrug.

Abruptly you can all hear a train coming, and unfortunately you're all still standing on the bridge. You jump off, landing in deeper water, where as Vriska pushes Tavros off the tracks before jumping herself. Poor Tavros lands on his back in the shallow area.

The train passes, and you glance at Vriska. "Is Tavros alright?"

"I'm sure he's fiiiiiiiine," she says, standing up, half of her hair and body sopping wet, much like you. "Right, Tavros?"

He doesn't respond. Vriska turns around and runs to him with you following close on her heels.

"...Tavros?"

He's just lying there, bronze eyes wide and staring at the sky.

"Uhhhh," he says. "Guys..."

"You're not okay, are you?" You say. He shakes his head.

"No, no I am not," he says. "My legs, uh, feel like they're not there, if that makes any sense."

Shit.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

**hOLY SHIT THIS CHAPTER SUCKS IM SO SORRY. I needed the events of this chapter to happen before some other stuff happens, so I tried to write it as best as I could but it's just sorta a mess. Please forgive me for that. Things are gonna pick up with some insane PBJ romantic tension in the next chapter so don't worry.**

**Disclaimer: I, once again, do not own Homestuc****k, and I probably don't need to put these on every chapter, but there's no way I'm stopping now.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Your name is Karkat Vantas, a friend of yours is in the hospital, an acquaintance of yours has not left her house since the incident happened, and another friend of yours is towering over you as you walk to the run-down hospital two miles away.

The more you walk around this town, the more you learn about it. There's a separate section not far from the park with a bunch of large houses, and most of the buildings there and everywhere are in some sort of slight disrepair. Back-alley fights are fairly common and it's a bit hard to ignore them but Dave assured you during yesterday's meeting at the park that you'd be able to tune them out after awhile. However, said towering friend walking next to you seemed to have a habit of glancing down every alley and side street you passed as though he was looking for someone.

"You look more nervous than usual," you remark.

"I don't normally look nervouth, do I?" He replies, glancing in between two apartment buildings.

"Keep telling yourself that," you say with a tiny smirk. "Anyway, what's up?"

"There'th jutht thith guy," Sollux says. Your heart skips a beat and you can't pinpoint why. "I've gotten into fightth with him before and I know he hangth around here. I'd rather not run into him."

You let out a breath you hadn't know you'd been holding.

"It'th not a really big deal," he says, noticing your tension. "I can take him. It'th not like we'll get thtabbed or anything."

"What the fuck is with you guys and stabbing, anyway?" You huff, suddenly finding the sidewalk very interesting.

"It'th jutht a thort of running inthide joke, jeeth!" Sollux says.

"Well I don't like it," you reply with a sudden apprehensiveness.

Soon you arrive at the hospital, and a feeling of uneasiness washes over you. You hate hospitals with a burning passion. They smell like medicine and are way cleaner than you are comfortable with. Plus, it's hard to get January off your mind when you're walking through the place.

Sollux already has Tavros' room number, sparing you the trouble of asking, so that's a slight upside.

Once you get to the room, you see Tavros propped up against the bed, playing Jenga with a half-asleep Gamzee. Actually, they both look pretty drowsy. Maybe you should come back later.

"Holy fuck, you guyth look exauthted," Sollux comments as soon as he enters the room, about two seconds after you.

"Yeaaaaaaaah," Tavros says. The word is long and drawn out as though it's Vriska speaking. "I couldn't, uh, sleep, so they had to, uh, drug me." He seems unable to concentrate on what he's saying, and is throwing in more "uh"s than usual.

"And I stayed up with him all motherfuckin' night," Gamzee says, carefully choosing a block to slide out from the tower. "They wouldn't drug me, though, so I got less sleep than him."

The tower topples. "Jenga, I, uh, win," Tavros says lazily.

"Give us a summary of your injuries and we'll leave," you negociate. "As long as you promise to get some sleep."

"Well, I'm, uh, paralyzed," Tavros says. "They said, I'll, uh, probably never walk again."

"Doeth it, like, hurt?" Sollux asks.

"No," Tavros answers. "I'm on, uh, several things, I believe, and, uh, painkillers are one of them."

"I'm not thure if that'th a good thing or not," Sollux replies.

"Nah," Gamzee says with a yawn. "He's been motherfuckin' loopy all day."

"Well," you begin, awkwardly rocking back on your heels. "You guys need sleep and we should get going." You grab Sollux's wrist and pull him forcefully out the door, and you can see his face go a bit pink. You can just hear Gamzee laugh before you take off down the hallway.

* * *

><p>"Okay," Sollux begins, once you're outside. He begins leading you in a seemingly random direction, switching it so he's grabbing your wrist. "Tho you don't like thtabbing joketh or hothpitalth. Good to know."<p>

You can feel your face go red. "What the fuck gave you that idea!?"

He lets go of your wrist. "KK, you were tenth the whole time. And you were thuper eager to leave. It wath kind of hard not to notithe."

He leads you into a tiny corner coffee shop with barely anyone there. The walls are painted dark green and the tables all have mosaic designs on them, as does the front counter.

"Why are we in a coffee shop?" You ask, as he walks up to the front counter.

"Why not," Sollux shrugs. He orders something and then glances at you.

"Fine but you're not paying for mine, and this isn't a date," you sigh, ordering an iced tea.

Your drinks come and you find a small table by a window, covered in a mosaic design sporting a fish and some underwater plants. The chair isn't that comfortable but you suppose it's because they look so nice; sacrifices must be made for art.

"Alright, thpill," Sollux says, leaning forward a bit.

"What?" You reply.

"Let'th thee," he begins, "you moved here to ethcape crime, you get all nervouth whenever thomeone mentionth thtabbing, and you hate hothpitalth; I think I can put two and two together."

The air grows thick with dread, at least for you. You go quiet for a second.

"You don't have to talk about it, it'th okay," Sollux says.

"No, I'll talk," you begin shakily, "it won't be very easy to keep it a secret, anyway."

"Tho did thomeone you know get thtabbed, or killed, or thomething?" Sollux asks. You shake your head and take a sip of your tea.

"No. It was me. I got stabbed," you say a bit quietly. "In January. As soon as the school year ended we moved."

"Do you have a thcar?" Sollux asks immediately. You nearly slam your head against the table.

"Jesus Christ I just told you I got stabbed!" You exclaim. "Yes I have a scar."

"Can I thee it?"

"Fuck no."

Sollux laughs and you don't see what's so funny. "C'mon, let'th get out of here."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**

**This story is a bit of a mess, I realize. I****'ll probably finish it anyway because other than the complete lack of planning I had for it it's gained a considerable amount of followers and I don't want to disappoint you guys! Also sorry this chapter is so late! School's horrible. Which is why this takes place in summer.**

**Disclaimer: I, once again, do not own anything presented here, other than the mere concept of this fan fiction.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Your name is Tavros Nitram, you are sixteen-ish years old, and you are really not sure how you feel about the Fourth of July.

Last year you spent it with your uncle and watched the fireworks from your apartment roof. This year you're watching them from Dave's apartment roof, which is weird because it is literally the same building. He just lives on the top floor instead of the fifth floor.

However, you have a problem.

There are only stairs leading up to the roof and you are sort of stuck in a wheelchair at the moment.

Well, you aren't in a wheelchair right _now_, you're actually sitting on a couch, but the four-wheel device is close by. Your best friend, Gamzee Makara, is sitting next to you, and your girlfriend is nowhere to be found. This brings you a bit of comfort as you've been debating (more like planning) breaking up with her for a while now and you just get nervous whenever you're around her.

Gamzee is eating a Jell-O cup (without the use of a spoon), Dave is leaning against the back of the couch and occasionally yelling at his brother, Terezi is sitting on the couch, directly in front of him, and Sollux has somehow gained control over the TV and is now channel surfing. There's nothing particularly interesting on and he looks about ready to either throw the remote or just shut it off.

Dave's phone rings and a voice shouts from down the hallway. "Was that my phone!?"

"No that was not your fucking phone!" Dave exclaims back, reading something on the screen of his mobile device. "Why don't you have your phone _with you_?"

"I..." Dave's brother shut up as soon as he heard a knock on the door. "Tell me if it's Jake!"

"It's not Jake!" Dave yelled before even opening the door. "He said he wouldn't be here until after six. It's five-thirty."

He was right. It wasn't Jake (someone you have never met and at this point are not totally sure you want to). It was Karkat. Sollux finally gave up and turned the TV off.

"Hey," Sollux said. Karkat found a place to sit next to him, which happened to be right in front of your feet.

"Wassup, Karbro?" Gamzee says carelessly, getting off the couch to throw his now emptied Jell-O container away. You glance around the room. Dave appears to have gone down the hallway to look for his brother.

"Bad news guys John can't come," Dave yells from another room, somewhere. He gets basically ignored.

"When do the fireworks start?" Terezi directs her voice in the general direction of where Dave may possibly be.

"At ten, I think," Dave replies, emerging from a room somewhere down the hallway and returning to his place behind the couch. "Why do you care, though? You can't even see them. Why are you even _here_?"

"'Cuz you're here, duh," Terezi replies.

Dave's brother suddenly comes in and ruins the moment. He's not wearing a shirt or his hat. "Dude, where's my shirt?" He asks Dave.

"I don't fucking know!" Dave exclaims, clearly exasperated with the older family member. "This isn't my job!"

"So are we just sitting around for four hours?" Karkat says. "Because I would rather do something enjoyable."

"Well," Dave begins, "we had something planned for when everyone's here but Jake is still missing. So we just gotta wait a half hour."

"What do you have planned?" Sollux asks.

"I just found these stupid board games from a long time ago..." Dave says from the kitchen, where he is pouring some Chex mix into a large bowl. "Like, this version of giant fucking Jenga and a normal-sized version of Clue."

"Giant Jenga?" You say.

"Yeah," Dave says, returning to the group. "When it's all stacked up it's like as tall as Gamzee when he stands up straight. Maybe taller."

* * *

><p>The hour or so goes painfully slowly, but you're not going to complain about it. It's filled with leisurely conversations about no particular subject, and goes from talking about cat videos on YouTube to Dave's gay sister that lives across town pretty quickly. Six o' clock rolls around and Jake still hasn't showed up. And he doesn't show up until almost six forty-five.<p>

Dave's brother (now wearing a shirt, thankfully, though still no hat) seems elated to see Jake and is suddenly a lot more social than he was before. Dave and Terezi have taken to playing a weird trivia game on Dave's phone, which Terezi keeps licking, though her partner doesn't seem to mind. You and Gamzee have somehow switched places with Karkat and Sollux: you both are on the floor, where as Karkat is scrunched up in one corner of the couch and Sollux is laying down with his legs hanging off the edge.

"Tho," Sollux says, looking away from his phone. "How about giant Jenga, then?"

* * *

><p>A few hilarious games of giant Jenga and Clue later, it's finally nine-thirty and time to head to the roof. Gamzee piggy-backs you up the stairs, much to absolutely no one's objections, despite how very badly it could have ended. Either way you all end up on the roof where multiple people from the building have gathered, all facing the same direction, ready for the fireworks.<p>

Every so often, random crackles and booms will sound from other directions, and Karkat looks really uneasy. Sollux has taken to laughing at him, and Gamzee just looks really sleepy at this moment in time. Overall the feeling in the air is contempt and you'd do nothing to change it.

"Hey," you nudge Gamzee in the arm. "What time is it?"

He yawns and pulls out his phone. The light is rather bright and you find yourself squinting.

"Nine-forty," he answers.

"So, twenty minutes," you say, leaning back on your hands. He leans back a bit as well and oh god did he just get closer to you or are you imagining things.

"I'm probably gonna up and fall asleep before then," Gamzee says with another yawn. You yawn as well, despite not even being tired.

"You really should fix your sleeping schedule," you laugh.

"Nah, I have a motherfuckin' system all worked out," he says.

"Going to bed whenever you can't stay awake and then waking up whenever isn't a system."

"It works, bro," he replies sleepily.

"IT DOES NOT WORK!" Karkat shouts.

By the time the fireworks start, Gamzee has fallen asleep in the weirdest position clinging to your arm. You nudge him a bit, but what really wakes him up is the increasing volume of the fireworks. His hand lingers on your arm, though.

And, honestly, with your girlfriend gone, watching the fireworks with your best friend on this roof...

You wouldn't have it any other way.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**

**17 FOLLOWS! I am so happy guys. You have no idea. 17 people want to know what happens next. 17 people were able to click a few things with their mouse that gives them an alert via email when this thing is updated.**

**Disclaimer: You know.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Your name is Tavros Nitram, and, to be completely honest, you would rather not break up with your girlfriend via text. But there is simply no other way you'll be able to do it at this point.

You are alone in your house (other than your uncle who is watching anime on Netflix, but he's holed himself up in his room for that and there's no way he's coming out any time soon), but you choose to be in your room anyway. Evening has settled in and you're guessing popcorn and/or cereal is the only thing on the dinner menu.

You press the "home" button on your used iPhone 4 and work up the nerve to start typing a message to Vriska (whether or not you'll have the nerve to send it is a whole other problem).

**hI, vRISKA, WE NEED TO TALK,**

However, while your finger is hovering over the send button, she texts you. You swear sometimes she can read your mind.

**I haven't seen you in fooooooooreeeeeeeever!**

You backspace everything you just typed and punch in a new sentence.

**oH, UH, ABOUT THAT,**

**i NEED TO TALK YOU YOU,**

It takes her a second to reply and you find yourself twiddling your thumbs.

**In person?**

**nO, WE DONT HAVE TO,**

**i MEAN, UNLESS YOU WANT TO,**

**Nah, I'm a 8it 8usy anyway.**

**So what did you want to talk a8out?**

**wELL, UH,**

You pause for a second with butterflies in your stomach.

**Spit it out already!**

You type in each word slowly, and carefully, and re-read it about four times before pressing send.

**i WANT TO BREAK UP,,,**

* * *

><p>Your name is Sollux Captor and you are <em>terrified as fuck<em>.

Your head hurts. Like, a lot. It's throbbing and it's mostly in the back which is a bad thing because the back of your head also feels a little wet and the only conclusion you can draw from this is that you are bleeding. Your mouth tastes like blood and feels like braces all over again. There's also a hand on your shoulder, and you are nearly positive that your eyes are open, but you can't see a damn thing.

"Sollux," a voice says. It's Karkat. "What the _fuck _happened here?"

"K..." You begin, but pause when you realize that your mouth hurts when you speak. "I...why is it so dark?"

"Where'd your lisp go!?" Karkat exclaims.

"Huh, that's weird," you continue, moving your tongue around your mouth. "That'ssssssssss. Hm."

"Okay, but seriously, what the fuck happened? Are you okay?"

You grab what you hope is Karkat's arm. "Well, depends on your definition of 'okay'," you reply. "If 'okay' means 'can't see a thing and head hurts like hell' then yes, I am okay."

"You can't see anything? That can't be good," Karkat says, removing your glasses. You hadn't realized that they had stayed on your face. His breath gets close and you realize he must be observing your eyes. "You have to go to the ER."

"No I don't," you say, letting go of his arm and pushing yourself up a bit. You lean against the wall behind you, and Karkat grabs your arm after realizing how unstable you are.

"You're blind," Karkat says. "Yes you do."

You stand there for a second with your head down. This isn't good. This is the complete opposite of good.

"Karkat," you say, and you can sense that it catches his attention. "I am honestly really scared right now."

"Fuck, I..." Karkat says. "I have no idea what to do. Should I call nine-one-one or what?"

"Shit I don't know," you say, a hand flying to the back of your head. Yep, blood.

Karkat lets go of your arm to pull out his phone, you assume, and you slide back down the wall. He starts talking, and his voice grows quieter as he tries to pinpoint where exactly you are. Your hands knot themselves in your hair, as if that will make the headache go away.

Once Karkat finishes talking on the phone he sits very close next to you. "They'll be here soon."

"Don't..." you begin, but your voice catches so you stop for a second. "Don't leave, okay?"

"I wasn't planning on it," he says, and you expect a playful insult to follow, but he doesn't continue. You get just a little bit closer to him for reassurance. Reassurance that he's still there, and that he's not going to leave.

* * *

><p><strong>What!<strong>

Your name is Tavros Nitram and this is making you feel really guilty.

**This isn't 8ecause I ACCIDENTALLY paralyzed you, is it?**

**8ecause if it is...**

**8T WAS 8N ACC8DENT OKAY?**

**nO, NO, THAT'S NOT THE REASON i SWEAR,,,**

**i'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS, SINCE BEFORE THAT EVEN HAPPENED,**

**Oh okay.**

You stare at your phone with a bit of shock for a second. So that's it? It's over? The thing that's been bothering you for a month is _finally _done?

**sO, THAT'S IT,**

**iT'S JUST OVER, JUST LIKE THAT,,,**

**What, did you want to fight a8out it or something?**

**nO, NOT REALLY,**

**i'M JUST SURPRISED, IS ALL,**

**Okay, well I have shit to do, so I'll see you l8r I guess.**

**yOU MEAN, WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS,**

**Why wouldn't we, dum8ass?**

**i DON'T KNOW, i WAS JUST UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT THIS WOULD NOT GO SO SMOOTHLY,,,**

**We're still friends. I'll see you l8r. ::::)**

You sit there stunned for a moment, staring at her words.

* * *

><p>"How long has it been?" You ask dully. "Hassssss. Thissss issss ssssso weird."<p>

"You sound like a fucking snake," Karkat nudges you a bit. "It's been like, less than a minute, dude. Relax, they'll be here soon."

"Ssssssnake," you continue, just to annoy him. One of your hands it still in your hair, but the other is gripping his wrist. Maybe a bit too hard, but he's not complaining at all.

"Are you gonna tell me what happened?" He asks suddenly.

"I told you this," you say. "I got in a fight."

"Okay," Karkat begins, "but how did you end up unconscious. Against a wall. _Blinded_."

"It was one hell of a fight. The dude slammed me against the wall, alright?"

A sudden pulse of pain through your head sends both of your hands to your hair. A small, strained noise leaves your lips.

"Hey are you okay?" Karkat sounds very concerned. You can hear ambulance sirens in the background.

"I..." you begin, trying to shakily remove your hands from your head. "Yeah. Fuck. It's...it's just like when I get migraines. I can...deal with it."

The sirens get louder and louder until you have to cover your ears because they're making your head hurt worse and _fuck _can't they just turn those things off? When they finally stop, Karkat has to remove your hands from your ears.

You name is Sollux Captor and you are _still _terrified.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

**This chapter has so much PBJ in it that John Egbert would probably die if he came in contact with it.**

**Also there are Fullmetal Alchemist spoilers. Kinda minor ones though. Just a warning.**

**Disclaimer: Tav totally would have taken Gamzee on for that offer for sloppy makeouts if I owned this webcomic. I also do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

**-adiosToreador began pestering twinArmageddons [TA] at 2:33 PM-**

**AT: hI, HOW ARE YOU DOING,**

**TA: fine, i guess.**

**TA: 0ther than being blind and shit.**

**AT: yEAH, THAT MUST SUCK,**

**AT: mORE THAN BEING PARALYZED,**

**TA: y0u have n0 idea.**

**TA: well, i mean, y0u d0, 0bvi0usly. **

**TA: because y0u are actually paralyzed.**

**TA: but y0u knew what i meant.**

**AT: yEAH,**

**AT: aNYWAY, CAN i ASK YOU A QUESTION,,,**

**TA: sh00t.**

**AT: gAMZEE LIKES ME, RIGHT,,,**

**TA: h0ly fuck i th0ught y0u'd never ask.**

**TA: dave and i have placed BETS, tavr0s. BETS ab0ut this.**

**TA: he th0ught y0u'd chicken 0ut.**

**AT: sO, IS THAT A YES,**

**TA: h0w are y0u even questi0ning this. the answer is clearly a yes. **

**TA: have y0u even been paying attenti0n here?**

**AT: uH,**

**AT: wELL, i HAD A HUNCH, BUT i WANTED TO MAKE SURE,**

**AT: nICE TYPING QUIRK, BY THE WAY,**

**TA: thanks. i guess.**

**AT: iT'S A LOT EASIER TO READ, THAN YOUR OLD ONE,**

**AT: aNYWAY,**

**AT: tHANKS FOR THE ADVICE,**

**-adiosToreador ceased pestering twinArmageddons [TA] at 2:47 PM-**

**TA: wait**

**TA: what d0 y0u plan t0 d0 with this inf0rmati0n**

**TA: ?**

**-twinArmageddons [TA] ceased pestering adiosToreador at 2:48 PM-**

Your name is Tavros Nitram, and just as you have set your phone down, someone has knocked at the door. And you could place BETS about who it is.

You're feeling a bit lazy today but endure the task of rolling over to the door anyway, and open it just a crack to that the person on the other side knows they can come in. Opening doors that swing inwards in a wheelchair is kind of hard.

Gamzee enters and flops over on the couch, and within a few moments you have joined him.

"So, what do you wanna all up and do?" Gamzee asks.

"Well," you begin, "there are a lot of anime DVDs lying around. And we have Netflix."

"What animes do you have, bro?" Gamzee continues.

"I think there's one called, uh, Fullmetal Alchemist, and then Ouran Highschool Host Club, which I have seen, and maybe some others?"

"What's Fullmetal Alchemist about?"

"I think it's about, two brothers, who do alchemy, or something," you say. "It's in the cabinet under the TV, somewhere, I think."

While he's searching for the DVD, you force your useless legs into a crossed position and lay back against the couch. You also think about your plan, which is a fuzzy mess that is probably doomed to fail but you're going to go through with it anyway.

"Is this it?" Gamzee holds up a DVD. You squint a bit to see it.

"Yeah, that's it," you say. He puts in the disk and you start up the first season.

"Are you watching Fullmetal Alchemist!?" Your uncle shouts from the other room.

"Yes!" You yell back.

"Oh man you are going to cry your eyes out."

* * *

><p>Several episodes later and a little girl is unnecessarily dead and your uncle was right. Gamzee steals the remote from you and pauses the episode.<p>

"What the _motherfuck_," he says. "Nina didn't deserve to all up and die like that. You didn't tell me this anime was _sad_, bro!"

"I didn't know it was sad!" You exclaim. You can hear your uncle say a muffled "told you" from the other room.

You reach for the remote, but he lays back against the arm of the couch and extends his arm, thus making it _impossible _for you to get it.

"C'mon, man, that's not fair!" You exclaim.

"No, what isn't motherfuckin' fair is that Nina had to die!" Gamzee exclaims. You fall and land on his chest, and he drops the remote.

He's still for a second as you smile and laugh into his shirt and you can practically _feel _the blush that has surely crept its way up his cheeks underneath his makeup. Now's the time to do it, you realize. You just hope that your uncle doesn't ruin it.

You reach forward and grab his shoulders, dragging yourself up so that you're face-to-face with him. You can feel his breath on your lips, and the expression on his face says it all: whatthemotherfuckareyoudoingomfg. He doesn't stop you though.

"Hey Gamzee?" You smirk. "Can I ask a question?"

He swallows and it's visible. "Sure."

"Can I kiss you?"

And, without even waiting for him to let out a confused "what" you lean down and smash your face against his.

It's a weird and awkward thing that can hardly be called a kiss. Your noses are squished together and your lips are barely touching. And when you stop, you lean back and laugh. And Gamzee looks concerned.

You push yourself up to a sitting position, and he does the same, and your grin has not left your face. But the next thing he does surprises the _fuck _out of you. He puts one hand on your neck, and pulls you forward, and kisses you. A real one.

And you're not sure how it happens, but it goes from being a very light, gentle kiss to making out and you're not objecting but _wow_.

And then suddenly you hear your uncle clear his throat.

"Oh, uh, fuck," you say, scratching the back of your neck.

"Get a room," Rufioh says, slightly angrily. He tosses the remote at you and you fumble to catch it. He then walks towards the kitchen.

"Sorry!" You yell after him. You look back at Gamzee and he shrugs.

"So," he begins, "do you want to keep watching the motherfuckin' anime or what?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN**

**P.S.**

**Tavros tops. Pass it on.**


	9. Not a chapter, sorry!

**This isn't a chapter! Sorry to get your hopes up! I know this website doesn't want people to post chapters that are just author's notes but tbh there's no other way I was gonna get this info out unless I personally messaged all of you (of which there are over 20, I believe). **

**Anyway, at the moment I have literally zero motivation for this story (I'm so sorry! I feel horrible about it) but I was thinking of just putting this story on hiatus along with Homestuck? Like when the comic starts having normal updates again (on 4/13, hopefully) I'll start updating this thing again. It'll give me some time to plan shit better and well, yeah. That's about it.**

**Again, I'm very sorry if I got your hopes up but that's all I had to say really! See you all on 4/13, hopefully! Once again I'm so sorry!**

**Bye~**


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